Counseling student dismissed after religious objection to client referral
Julea Ward, a graduate counseling student at Eastern Michigan University, was dismissed from her program in 2009 after asking to refer a gay client to another counselor for a relationship issue, citing her Christian beliefs. The Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment for the university in 2012; the parties later settled.
Julea Ward, a master's student in EMU's counseling program, was assigned a gay client through a practicum in 2009. Citing religious objections to affirming same-sex relationships, she asked her supervisor to reassign the client; the program convened a formal review and dismissed her for refusing remediation. Represented by ADF, she sued. The Sixth Circuit reversed in Ward v. Polite, 667 F.3d 727 (6th Cir. 2012), holding a jury could find the university applied its referral policy in a way that targeted her religious viewpoint. The parties settled in December 2012 for $75,000 and expungement of her record.